NewLife Sciences, Inc. v. Weinstock, 197 Cal. App. 4th 676 (2011)
NewLife terminated the employment of Ronald Weinstock, the purported inventor of a Therapeutic Magnetic Resonance Device (“TMRD”), which NewLife had purchased approximately one year before the termination. In connection with its purchase of the TMRD, NewLife had obtained a non-compete covenant, which prohibited Weinstock from competing for five years after the termination of…
Mattel, Inc. v. MGA Entm’t, Inc., 616 F.3d 904 (2010)
In 2000, during his employment with Mattel, Carter Bryant pitched his idea for the Bratz line of dolls to MGA, which was one of Mattel’s competitors. The year before, Bryant had signed an employment agreement with Mattel pursuant to which he agreed to disclose and assign to Mattel all “inventions” conceived or reduced to practice at any time during his employment with Mattel. After it learned of Bryant’s involvement in the Bratz line of dolls, Mattel sued MGA, Bryant and others. Prior to the trial, which resulted in (among other things) a $10 million jury award to Mattel for copyright damages and the imposition of a constructive trust in favor of Mattel over all Bratz trademarks, the judge determined that under the employment agreement, Bryant had assigned his “ideas” (not just his “inventions”) to Mattel.
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